Internal combustion engines use a variety of fluids that perform various functions during operation. Such fluids include, for example, lubrication oil, water or coolant, fuel, and so forth. When engines are assembled, there are often fluid passages carrying different fluids adjacent to each other. These fluid passages often pass from one engine component to another through component interfaces. These component interfaces are usually sealed to prevent leakage and mixing of the various fluids that are passing therethrough.
Often, a performance of seals on the engine may degrade over time and allow small or large leaks to develop in the fluid passages. Leaking fluids on engines, that otherwise may be relatively harmless, become problematic if they cause two or more fluids to intermix. Such leaks, often referred to as internal leaks, are not be easily detectible and cause a loss of performance to the engine. One example of such a leak may be a leakage of engine coolant into the engine's lubrication oil supply.
Past attempts to deal with the issue of internal mixing of fluids on an engine have primarily included routing passages carrying the fluids that are sought to be kept apart far from each other. Routing of such passages away from each other partly rectifies the issue of fluid mixing, but this solution may only be used when feasible. Some times there are engine configurations that require passages carrying different fluids to be routed close to each other for lack of alternative routing paths or space available.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sealing configuration that will ensure proper fluid segregation on an internal combustion engine, especially in cases where loss of sealing performance of seals is plausible, when passages carrying different fluids are routed in close proximity to each other.